Hardinge Wally Image 8 Kent 1921

Description

Greenwich, London born Wally Hardinge is one of only 12 England football and cricket double internationals. In a first class cricket career lasting 32 years from when he made his debut at the age of 16 in 1902, Hardinge scored 33,519 runs, averaging 36.51, and made 75 centuries, playing 623 matches for Kent until 1933, when aged 47, scoring centuries in both innings of a match four times. As of 2017 his runs total puts him 46th on the all-time list of runs scored in first-class cricket. He was described as being “for years … one of the leading opening batsmen in England”. His achievements were substantial, although he wasn’t given much opportunity at Test match level.

In his early career Hardinge was considered a more promising bowler than batsman. He bowled slow left arm spinners well enough to take 371 career wickets for 26.37 runs each in a Kent side which featured great spin bowlers such as Colin Blythe and Tich Freeman as well as Frank Woolley and Bill Fairservice. He helped Kent to win their first County Championship in 1906 and they subsequently won it in 1909, 1910 and 1913, He took six wickets for nine runs on a turning pitch at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells in 1929 and had a career best return of 7-64 against the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s in 1932. He was described by Wisden as one of the “finest outfields in the world”. In 1913 he reached three figures in four successive innings: 154 not out against Leicestershire at Canterbury; 117 and 105 not out versus Hampshire and 107 against Northamptonshire at Dover.

In a season when he was fourth in the national batting averages, he played a single test match for England against the touring Australian side at Headingley in 1921 in a match where Jack Hobbs had to withdraw on the opening day because of appendicitis. Hardinge scored 25 and 5 and was not picked again. He was refused leave of absence to tour Australia in 1928-29 by his employer, Wisden & Co, and had been unable to tour with England whilst he was playing professional football.

He became only the third cricketer, after C. B. Fry and Warwick Armstrong, to score a double century and a century in the same match when scoring 207 and 102 against Surrey at Blackheath in 1921. He scored 249 not out against Leicestershire in 1922 and 263 not out against Gloucestershire in 1928. That summer was his most successful in run-getting as he reached an aggregate of 2,446, averaging 59.65. As well as playing for Kent, Hardinge played six times for the Players against the Gentlemen, scoring 127 at The Oval in 1921. For a short time after finishing playing he coached Leicestershire.

In his football career, where he played at inside forward, Hardinge started with amateur clubs Eltham in 1902, Tonbridge in 1903 and Maidstone United in 1904 before signing for Newcastle United in May 1905. He made his Football League debut at Sunderland in September 1905 scoring once in 9 appearances that season, his only first team action during two and a half years there. He moved to Sheffield United in December 1907 for a fee of £350. There he flourished scoring 46 goals in 152 games for The Blades in six seasons at Bramall Lane, becoming one of the trickiest inside forwards in the game. While there he won one England cap in April 1910 against Scotland at Hampden Park in a British Home Championship match that England lost 2-0 having been a reserve 2 months earlier for the match against Ireland.

In the summer of 1913 Hardinge returned to the south, signing for Woolwich Arsenal (who had just moved into their new Highbury ground, and would drop the “Woolwich” from their name a year later), and played there either side of World War One. He retired as a professional footballer in 1921, having scored 14 goals played 55 appearances for The Gunners and he also made 70 war time appearances for Arsenal in between his military service.

Hardinge served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as a mechanic during the War. He joined the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division in 1915 before transferring to the Royal Naval Air Service as an air mechanic at Crystal Palace and Blandford. In 1918 the RNAS was merged with the Royal Flying Corps and Hardinge transferred again to the newly formed Royal Air Force before being discharged at the end of the War.

After retirement he had a spell as a coach of Tottenham Hotspur’s reserve team in the 1930’s and for a short period became caretaker manager in April 1935 after the departure of Percy Smith, taking charge of the last 6 games of the 1934-35 season.